(CBSNEWS) – When Sara Van Beck heard a loud “whistling noise” coming from her laundry room last week, she rushed over to investigate.

The mother of five from Freeport, Minnesota, noticed the washing machine was starting to “shake” and “howl” as it reached the end of its spin cycle. As she bent down to examine the 3-year-old Whirlpool Duet, she heard an explosion.

“It sounded like a bomb. It was so surreal,” Van Beck told CBS News.

Within seconds, Van Beck felt a sharp pain as the plastic door flung open and ball bearings flew out of the machine and hit her in the stomach.